A Rhode Island man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges tied to accusations he enticed a 12-year-old girl into sex and then tried to hire someone to murder her so she couldn't be a witness, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
Chandler J. Cardente, 30, was previously convicted in Rhode Island state court for child molestation. On Thursday he pled guilty to enticement of a minor, commission of a felony while being required to register as a sex offender, and interstate murder for hire.
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According to the DOJ, in the summer of 2021, Cardente posed as a 17-year-old and began talking to the 12-year-old victim through a messaging app. He met with the girl in December 2021 and had sexual contact with her multiple times while driving around, according to prosecutors. He was arrested and taken into state custody.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
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While he was held at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) in Cranston, prosecutors said Cardente spoke over the phone to someone else, expressing intent for the victim to be murdered. He told an undercover officer that the victim should "end up dead" because she was " a witness" and offered $200 in cash and equipment worth $1,500.
Cardente is being held without bail at ACI. He is scheduled for sentencing in the federal case on April 23.
Cardente was already a sex offender after pleading no contest in 2014 to molestation charges in West Warwick and Coventry, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports. He was accused of molesting a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.
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Cardente was sentenced to five years to serve behind bars in those cases.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations; the Warwick, Cranston, and Burrillville Police Departments; Rhode Island State Police; and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections Special Investigations Unit.
